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rmi) sfrATEs PATENT orricn.

JOHN W. DRUMMOND, OF NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

STEERING- APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,510, dated August 12, 1856.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. DRUMMoND, of the town of Norwalk, Fairfield county, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Steering-Gear; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof.

The object of my invention is to connect the steering wheel with the rudder-head,

l0 that the action of the waves on the rudder will not turn it; and to this endthe nature of Amy invention consistsin so arranging a double wristed or twoleaved pinion, acted on by the steering wheel, that said two leaves or wrists when placedon the plane of motion of a sector or wheel `'acting on .the rudder, shall have no, tendency to ,rotate the steering wheel, and to this end I have applied and shown' herein two wrists, one on each side of the aXisl of the steeringwheel shaft, with an open space between them equal to and capable of receiving any one of the cogs of the sector rack, while each one of the said wrists will lit and pass in between the cogs of the said sector rack. Under the wrists or leaves of the pinion is placed a rod with a T head passing down through the check block or stanchion and resting on a spring to prevent the rack from turning the pinion more than onefourth of an evolution. Then, by turning the steering-wheel shaft, the wrists will, in.

succession, engage the cogs of the sector rack and they turn the rudder; but, by rea. son of leaving the two wrists or cogs of the pinion on opposite sides of the aXis of the steering-wheel shaft when they are:

placed in a plane parallel with the plane of motion of the sector rack, the cogs of the 10 said rack when acting on the said wrists.

cannot turn the steering-wheel shaft and will be thoroughly locked, yet at any time, by-

D represents the rudder post; E, the tiller; F, the lock holding the tiller to the sector rack; G, the sector rack; II, I-I, the

,chuck block or stanchions; I, the groove g the two wrists of the pinionto take olf the momentum ofthe steeringwheel when put in motion by the sector rack so as to prevent its being carried over by the action of a surge of the waves.

I do not claim a sector attached to the I rudder head, acted on by a pinion, as this has before been done; but I am not aware that a two wristed or lea-ved pinion actuated by the steering wheel has ever before been so applied, in connection with the 7'0 aforesaid sector, that the two wrists or leaves of the pinion can be placed on the plane of motion of the sector, and thereby avoid all tendency to turn the steering wheel by any surge or wave against the rudder; and also in connection with said twoY leaved or wristed pinion I make use of a1 spring or its equivalent, to hold the wrists. of said pinion on the desired plane. ma.,

Therefore what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Arranging a pinion having two leaves or wrists in such a manner relatively with the sector or wheel acting on. the rudder that the said wrists or leaves can be turned into the plane of motion of said sector or wheel, to prevent motion to the steering wheel by any surge or wave against the rudder, as specified, and in combination with the aforesaid two wristed or leaved pinion I claim the T headed rod and spring K, or their equivalents, to tend always to bring the said two wrists or leaves into the plane of motion of the sector or wheel, substantially as specified.

JOHN W. DRUMMOND. 

